History / History by country / Middle East

Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia

by Carmen Bin Ladin

Osama bin Laden's former sister-in-law provides a penetrating, unusually inti- mate look into Saudi soci-ety and the bin Laden family's role within it, as well as the treatment of Saudi women. On September 11th,...

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard

Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to...

Portrait of a Turkish Family

by Irfan Orga & Ates Orga

Irfan Orga was born into a prosperous family in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire. His mother was a beauty, married at thirteen, who lived in the seclusion of a harem, as befitted a Turkish woman of her class....

Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire

by Caroline Finkel

The complete history of the Ottoman empire, written for the general reader

The 188th Crybaby Brigade: A Skinny Jewish Kid from Chicago Fights Hezbollah--A Memoir

by Joel Chasnoff

Look at me. Do you see me? Do you see me in my olive-green uniform, beret, and shiny black boots? Do you see the assault rifle slung across my chest? Finally! I am the badass Israeli soldier at the side of...

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction 2005, Lionel Gelber Prize 2004

by Steve Coll

Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize

The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan

With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the...

The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict: Seventh Revised and Updated E

by Walter Laqueur

An essential resource?completely revised and updated for the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of Israel

In print for forty years , The Israel-Arab Reader is a thorough and up-to-date guide to the continuing...

Desert Queen

by Janet Wallach

Turning her back on her privileged life in Victorian England, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), fired by her innate curiosity, journeyed the world and became fascinated with all things Arab. Traveling the length and...

Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi

by Neal Bascomb

The first complete narrative of the pursuit and capture of Adolf Eichmann, based on groundbreaking new information and interviews and featuring rare, neverpublished Mossad surveillance photographs When the Allies...

In the Lion's Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle with Syria

by Andrew Tabler

A key player in the Middle East and the site of violent protests in 2011, Syria has long been a thorn in Washington's side when it comes to forging peace or rolling back the influence of the Islamic republic...

Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle

by Dan Senor & Saul Singer

START-UP NATION addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel-- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural...

On the State of Egypt: What Made the Revolution Inevitable

by Alaa Al Aswany & Humphrey Davies

“Alaa Al Aswany is among the best writers in the Middle East today, a suitable heir to the mantle worn by Naguib Mahfouz, his great predecessor.” –Jay Parini, The Guardian (UK)

From one of Egypt’s most...

Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1998

by Benny Morris

Righteous Victims, by the noted historian Benny Morris, is a comprehensive and

objective history of the long battle between Arabs and Jews for possession of a land they both call home. It appears at a most timely...

Embracing the Infidel

by Behzad Yaghmaian

An eye-opening personal account of an epic human drama, Embracing the Infidel takes us on an astounding journey along a modern-day underground railroad that stretches from Istanbul to Paris.  In this groundbreaking...

The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the United States Marines

by Bing West

BONUS: This edition contains excerpts from Bing West's No True Glory and The Strongest Tribe.

With unprecedented access and previously unreported detail, here is a first hand account of the 22-day march to Baghdad...

I is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror in Afghanistan

by Kathy Gannon

A gripping, intimately-observed history of Afghanistan from 1986 to the present—by the longest-serving Western journalist in the region—overturns our conventional and simplistic understandings.

Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema

by Terri Ginsberg

The Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema covers the production and exhibition of cinema in the Middle East and in other communities whose heritage is from the region and whose films commonly reflect...

Israel and Europe

by Howard M. Sachar

"A remarkable feat--clear, compelling and accessible--. Critical background for any appreciation of the Jewish state."--The New York Times Book Review

With his characteristic grace and lucidity, Howard M. Sachar,...

The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa: Sixth Edition

by David E. Long

The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa continues to provide comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of the region's critical contemporary events and issues. Invited specialists contribute...

Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics

by Colbert C. Held

Now in its fifth edition, Middle East Patterns continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative geographical study of the region. New coauthor John Thomas Cummings joins Colbert C. Held in updating this...